Author: Cynthia D. Griffin

Here it is available for purchase, Blood Feud the first book in the Emperors of Ethia! Can’t believe the day is finally here. If you are a science fiction lover, check out the beginning of this epic series that dives into a galaxy ruled by an authoritarian Emperor who’s determined to settle once and for all the successor of his throne, and a son determine to find out more about his true role in the Empire.

Caught in a deadly conspiracy to forge the next Emperor of the Ethian Galaxy, an ancient rite demands blood…

After twenty-two years being held captive on an Outlander world, the long lost Prince Adar Zahn is finally brought back to his true home, but without any memory of his past. As he searches for the answers about himself and what is expected as the Emperor’s sixth son, Adar discovers how difficult trust is to find and that the truth can be worse than a lie.

On his journey of discovery, he is left with questions about himself, a growing foreboding about his family, and a rising urgency to discover more about a vaguely mentioned Blood Feud. Can he unravel the mystery that surrounds him before it’s too late?

I’ve been talking about it for awhile off and on, and the day finally arrived when my awesome newly published book showed up on my doorstep. Imagine my excitement as I opened up the box and held my very first published book in my hands! Then I immediately imagined doing the same with all the other books to come (I’m working on two books right now in fact). Finally after years of hard work, I have something very physical to hold in my hands!

I knew this day would be coming. So over the past few months, I made many book release plans and even came up with some release dates, but in the publishing world release dates can be a tricky thing. Ultimately, I opted for short, sweet, and simple by doing a cover reveal post and another post when the book is up on Amazon. Another reason for this simplicity is I have been and still am heavily preoccupied by our family’s upcoming move to Florida.

In fact, I still can’t give a exact release date so people can start buying the book because I am going to Florida very early this coming Tuesday and will be in Florida for ten days looking for our new home! I am in the process of working with Create Space to get it up and available on Amazon, but I’m not sure if it will be done before I go. I’m not taking my laptop on this Florida trip because it’s supposed to be a little bit of a getaway for me too (hitting two birds with one stone, three if you count spending time with my husband who’s already been in Florida the last six weeks working his new job).

The content in this journaling series is from what I shared with my recent in-person journaling class. My original idea was to try and create an online class, but ultimately decided to create a blog series in which to freely share this information.

Kaizen Journaling, a home for people who want to have their personalised arsenal for success, which is fuelled by their dreams, guided by their courage, and stamped with their unique personality. http://kaizenjournaling.com/

A Writer’s Wings, my writing blog that has posts mostly on writing techniques and writing in general, but also things that inspire me, or books that I read and have really strong feelings about. I’m also using it as an author page to promote my published works. https://cynthiadgriffin.com/

The content in this journaling series is from what I shared with my recent in-person journaling class. My original idea was to try and create an online class, but ultimately decided to create a blog series in which to freely share this information.

Last week in this series, I talked about Why Journaling is Important? This week let’s talk about what journaling is and is not. Let’s also get rid of some preconceived ideas and stereotypes about journaling and understand how powerful a tool it can be for every person of any age.

What is Journaling?

Is first and foremost an expression of the Self

A form of self-expression that works best if it comes directly from the heart (don’t lie, don’t be in denial, just let it all out)

Is a written record of thoughts, experience, and observations

It can be something you do regularly or just when you feel you need it

There are no rules to journaling, expect for the ones you make yourself (if you decide to make any at all)

You are in charge of what you write or don’t write and when you write

What Journaling is NOT.

Something you HAVE to do (so don’t stress over journaling if it’s not something that speaks to you, or you only journal every once in awhile)

A place where you need to worry about proper grammar, spelling, or punctuation

Journaling is NOT just writing, it can include paintings, drawings, pictures, stickers or keepsakes that have meaning (like ticket stubs for a dried flower, ect.)

This sounds easy enough, and usually it is, but I think journaling can have a bad stigma because it might seem to only be for “girls” or something that can be considered boring because no one thinks their life is interesting enough to talk about. I say not at all to both these things. Journaling is for EVERYONE of all ages. It can be very fun too. It all depends on how it’s approached. What kind of journal you keep matters too. What might work for one person, may not be as effective for another.

The content in this journaling series is from what I shared with my recent in-person journaling class. My original idea was to try and create an online class, but ultimately decided to create a blog series in which to freely share this information.

I feel very passionate about journaling and the great tool it can be in helping to discover more about who we really are, but I find information on journaling is scattered over many places. Also, there’s a lot on bullet journaling (the most popular type of journaling right now), but there isn’t a focus on all the broad possibilities of journaling or why it is so important. I hope through this blog series I can address these things as well as express why I find journaling to be such a vital part of my life.

So let’s start with why I believe journaling is so important. The best way I can do that is to tell you how journaling has affected my life.

I didn’t always journal, and when I did start it was very infrequent. Maybe once a month or two and it remained this way for a while. Usually my journaling was just a dump of negative emotions and when I went back to read what I wrote, I’d become incredibly depressed. Because of this, I decided I didn’t want to write because I didn’t want to depress myself further. I thought “What’s the point?” “Life sucks and it’s nothing but a gaping raw wound. Why make it worse by spilling my crap on purpose?”

I recently taught a fabulous journaling class. The best classes are the ones that inspire you, especially the ones you teach. This one has inspired me to create a Facebook group that offers support and inspiration to the students who attended my class. But then I asked myself, “why stop there?” Wouldn’t it be great to open this up to anyone wanting to start a regular habit of writing in a journal? I know so many people who struggle to make things a habit (including myself), and I know there are many who wish to be journaling more and not less. So I invite anyone wishing to begin a new journaling habit, or anyone wanting to reestablish an old one that’s fallen by the wayside to join us. I invite you to build a better you.

Here’s how it works. Go to 21 Day Journaling Challenge and join the group, and then start journaling! Each day I will post something inspirational such as a quote or picture. Maybe even a question to ponder in your journal writing. Also feel free to post about your own progress or frustrations, or even snippets of your work.

Journaling can be extremely beneficial to all whether you are a writer or not. It can help you understand yourself and the world around you better. It can be a needed release of thoughts and emotions. Or a place to store memories you always want to come back to enjoy. Journaling is an opportunity to not only give yourself a few moments of respite in the chaos of this world, but also to help find yourself. Are you up for the challenge?

My life has recently gone through some major changes (very good changes), and will be going through more in the near future. A large contributing factor of that is a change of perspective that I have gradually come to. I believe this has happened through many avenues that has taken a long time to evolve, which has been a slow, painful, yet enlightening path. Even though it has been slow coming up out of the mire of negativity that I had been entombed in, there have been a few key pieces that when snapped into place have catapulted me into a faster evolution. One of these key pieces was reading this fascinating book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

I purchased this book on a high recommendation of a friend. I took it with me last spring when my husband and I got away for a week in a cozy cabin in the mountains. One of the things I really enjoyed doing on that trip was cuddling up near the fireplace and reading. While I did bring another book to read as well, this was my book of choice. It fascinated me and stretched my mind in such a way that I simply could not put it down.